


Sleep At Last

by Finnijer



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Case Fic, Gavin's got anxiety, Getting Together, Idiots in Love, M/M, Masturbation, Mutual Pining, RBB, Reverse Big Bang, Trouble Sleeping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-18 05:22:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29112981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Finnijer/pseuds/Finnijer
Summary: Gavin and Nines are known for quickly closing cases. When what looks like a routine burglary leaves them stumped, Gavin starts to lose sleep. The sooner they can close the case, the sooner Gavin can get a decent night's rest. At least, he hopes he can.
Relationships: Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Comments: 13
Kudos: 86
Collections: Reed900 Reverse Big Bang





	Sleep At Last

**Author's Note:**

> While I noted this is an RRB, I haven't been able to obtain the art it was based on. If I'm able to obtain it, I will post it in a second chapter. I'm thankful for the artist who inspired this work and for the mods on the discord. Enjoy.

Gavin stretched out his arms and yawned loudly. A glance at his phone told him it was almost two am; not bad for a late nighter. The names on the report in front of him started to blur and he’s positive he had read the same sentence five times. The stretch was much needed; sitting hunched over in his cheap chair at the kitchen table for several hours wasn’t doing his back any justice. He yawned again and stood, closing the files on the tablet and grabbing his phone. Gavin knew he needed to try to sleep. He didn’t get much sleep lately and it was starting to catch up to him. Glance at the time (1:40am) told him it wasn’t too late to get a decent night’s rest. He shouldn’t have stayed up knowing that there wasn’t much he could do until they interviewed the homeowners tomorrow. He got up and left the kitchen, turning off the light.

In the morning, he slept through his first alarm which put him twenty minutes behind his normal routine. He threw on some clothes and swished some mouthwash. He was in such a rush, he almost forgot to grab the tablet off the kitchen table before leaving. He pulled up to the precinct underground parking with only three minutes to spare. It definitely wasn’t because he was speeding. As usual, Nines was at their joint desk looking prim and proper as usual. Today (from the angle Gavin could see) he was wearing a black, long sleeve button up and white pressed pants. Gavin rolled his eyes thinking about how his wrinkled t-shirt shirt was going to look next to Mr. Perfect. He grabbed some coffee from the breakroom and chatted a moment with Tina before heading to his desk. 

“Do you ever not iron your clothes?” Gavin asked sarcastically as he took a seat at his desk. 

“One of us has to look presentable,” Nines replied in a monotone. “Makes us more believable as actual detectives.”

Gavin huffed. “It was one time.”

“One time too many.” Gavin saw the faint smirk on Nines face but didn’t retort. “We have an interview with the Douglass's in an hour. You looked over the report?”

“Of course I looked over the report.” Gavin scoffed and pulled out the tablet from his bag. “I still think it’s stupid we got assigned a burglary.”

“We’re half of the android crimes division, Gavin.” Nines turned his focus back to looking at his desk top screen, scrolling what Gavin assumed was the same notes on the tablet he booted up in his hand.

“I know, I was just bitching. I don’t understand why the fuck an android would break into a house.” Gavin said, opening the file and swiping through the report on the tablet. “The fuck they need a,” he stopped on the page of items list, “plain gold necklace, ac adapter cords, a digital camera from 2034, and a cast iron skillet.”

Nines didn’t look over but replied. “All of those items are easily pawned without much traceability. The camera is obsolete; but not an antique. It will be broken down for parts before we can even hit the pawn shops to question them. The cast iron skillet was made in the 20’s; it doesn’t have a serial number.” 

“What’s an android need to sell these to a pawn shop for?” 

The scoff made Nines look up at him. Gavin could already tell he stuck his foot in his mouth by how Nines was frowning. 

“Androids aren't required to be paid minimum wage Gavin. If the model is older, they’re going to need repair. It’s an expensive endeavor even with “Jericho” running what used to be Cyberlife.” 

Gavin hated how flat Nines spoke and he hated even more how the information settled in his gut. “I guess you have a point,” he muttered. “Still. No fingerprints and just a blurry image on the security camera? How are we going to even close this?”

“I’m pretty sure that’s where our skills will come in handy.”

Gavin clicked his tongue and stared at the image on the tablet. It was grainy for a screenshot from a modern security system. He made a mental note to ask what year and mode the security cameras were when they brought the couple in. Even with some noise clearing, it was hard to tell who was in the photo, let alone that it was an android. The only thing they had to go on was zero prints and lack of the man wearing gloves in the photo and video. A human would have left prints; well, a regular human. Gavin wasn’t too sure a man stealing petty items would sear his prints just to go gloveless. 

“Gavin, they’ll be here shortly. We need to go over what we plan to ask them.” 

“Yea,” Gavin sat the tablet down. He added jokingly, “You’ll do the talking right?”

“Of course.” Nines replied with a wink. “I am the more articulate out of the two of us.” 

The couple showed up fifteen minutes early and seemed nervous to be in a police station. Gavin watched their body language while Nines did the majority of the questioning. It was easier to use Nines internal video recording if he was solely focused on the people talking and answering. Meanwhile Gavin could listen for discrepancies and focus on any give away ticks. He asked his own questions near the end, just for good measure so Fowler didn’t think he was making Nines do the hard work. After they left, Gavin shook his head. They were nowhere closer to solving this. The security camera was old; which explained the image. The couple themselves were in their 40’s; just a little older than Gavin. Shirt the wife wore had pilling on the side; frequently worn and washed. Husband’s shoes were scuffed and creased, which meant that they were good quality but older and well used. These weren’t fancy rich people even living in a well-to-do neighborhood. It reminded Gavin of the people who grew up poor and worked their asses off to make a decent living. Not the kind of people to fake a robbery.

“Their story adds up; I still don’t understand why an android would rob them.” Gavin leaned back in his chair. “There was so much he could have taken that could also be pawned. He had the time to do it based on how long he was in the house. It doesn’t make sense.”

“He was probably desperate; androids aren’t rational thinkers considering we’re all deviant now.” 

“Right.” Nines made sense but it didn’t sit well with him. Gavin stood up and stretched. “Come with me to get lunch. I need to walk.”

* * *

Twelve am came and went with Gavin flipping through the tablet and Nines transcripts on his couch. This case bothered him; he solved cases weaker than this in less than twenty-four hours. Yet it had been over forty-eight hours. So long that they got a separate homicide case later in the day to work on top of this one. Gavin knew he should be focusing on the homicide but the burglary was plaguing him. If he could find what he missed, he could get this over with. He didn’t realize he fell asleep until he woke up groggy at five am and panicked. Thankfully, it was only five am and he wasn’t late for work. However, he slept on the couch. Gavin went into the kitchen and grabbed a glass and some old prescription ibuprofen from the cabinet. He downed it with some tap water and hoped it would help the ache he knew was coming. He took a shower and went back into the kitchen. It was too late to try and go back to sleep. He killed two hours by cooking some questionably dated eggs and frozen sausage he hoped wasn’t past the recommended keep date. He also made coffee for the first time at home in weeks. 

Breakfast cooked and ate, Gavin made another cup of coffee and sat at the kitchen table. He scrolled his phone in hopes of distracting himself from obsessing about the case. It worked for a bit; he found a youtube video that was long enough and interesting enough to hold his attention for most of the play length. The case tablet still laid in his line of sight and it wasn’t long before he closed the tab on his phone to grab the tablet. He reread notes put in by Nines, items taken, etc. Things he has read so far a million times almost. It was starting to piss him off. A case that simple shouldn’t be that hard to crack. By the time his warning alarm went off, he felt like he was going cross-eyed. As he headed out the door, he hoped that something would give today at work. 

* * *

“We have another burglary. Same area, three houses down.”

“Fucking shit,” Gavin grumbled. “Bold as fuck to hit a house in the same neighborhood. Did the responding officers submit a report yet?” 

“Should be in momentarily,” Nines replied. “They’re still present at the home, we could go by there and see for ourselves.” 

“Let’s do that. I’ll drive.” Gavin stood up and grabbed his keys out his back pocket. He noticed Nine scowling at him when he went to go around the desk. “What?”

“You’re fatigued. Maybe I should drive.”

“You fuckin scanning me, Nines?” It didn’t come out as harshly as Gavin intended. Mostly because he was relieved someone noticed. “I can drive. Just had a rough night.” 

Nines' expression to that response was something Gavin didn’t want to read into. He almost looked deflated when he replied, “Right.” 

Gavin didn’t say it but he felt guilty and handed Nines the keys when they reached his car. Nines took them without a word. The house was a bust in Gavin’s opinion. Same issue: no prints, random items stolen, and this time no footage. For some reason, these people didn’t have security cameras. They had an alarm but it wasn’t tripped.

“I don’t think this happened today,” Gavin said when he got back into the car. “This could have happened when the first house got robbed or shortly after. We’re gonna need his security logs from the company and see what code login times are unaccounted for.”

“Already ahead on that,” Nines smiled. “The device is compatible enough for me to scan. I have a list of times to compare to the interview provided. But I think you’re correct.” 

Gavin hummed and Nines started up the car. He took in the neighborhood while Nines focused on the road. Standard middle class; upper class even when Gavin spotted a cleaning service van in a driveway at the first stop sign. He still didn’t understand why someone would rob houses in a neighborhood and not take the good stuff. Even an android can’t make much pawning off some jewelry and electronics. 

“They brought in our suspect from the homicide,” Nines said, which drug Gavin out of his thoughts. “Do you want to get something to eat first?” 

“Yeah.” Gavin knew if he said no, Nines would go on about how he needs to eat at normal times to maintain strength and coherency. Or something like that. “It’ll make the guy sweat a little.”

* * *

Two nights go by with little sleep on Gavin’s end. It was getting to the point where he was having borderline panic attacks that would keep him up. Three more houses in the same area on the same day called in with items missing. A serial burglar who left no prints, took petty items, and no sign of a break-in. It was Friday and still no break in the cases. The only solstice he got was knowing they solved the homicide case. 

“Something isn’t adding up.” Gavin yelled louder than he intended too. Thankfully the dayshift was leaving and the night shift knew to leave him the fuck alone. “It’s just not adding up.”

“Gavin, you need to go home.” Nines placed a hand gently on his shoulder. “Try and get some rest this weekend.”

Though Nines meant well, Gavin scoffed. “If I could rest I would, you fuckin idiot. You wouldn’t know about that though, would you?” Nines withdrew his hand and frowned. Gavin hated how he could see the wounded expression despite remaining stoic. He couldn’t apologize; not right now while he was still frustrated. He stood up and gathered up the tablet and his bag. “I’ll be in on Monday.”

Gavin took one last look at Nines and wished he hadn’t. He felt guilty while he walked away, leaving Nines looking so wounded. On the drive home, it ate at him. It wasn’t Nines fault the case wasn’t solving itself. Gavin also knew his current obsession over this case wasn’t healthy. Maybe the weekend would reset his brain. He stayed up watching mindless tv that Friday night but kept thinking about his argument with Nines. He got three beers down before finally working up the nerve to call. Nines answered on the first ring.

“ _ Gavin? Is everything alright _ ?”

“Yea, everything is fine.”

“ _ It’s two am.” _

Gavin rolled his eyes even if Nines couldn’t see it. “I know. It’s the weekend, I can be up past two am.” 

“ _ Right. Did you want to talk about something then?” _

“No,” Gavin said quickly but then cursed. “I mean yes.” There was silence but he knew Nines had not hung up yet. Gavin knew he needed to say it. “Hey, I’m sorry for snapping at you before I left today.”

Another short silence before he heard Nines sigh. “ _ Apology accepted. It’s two am Gavin.” _

It was Gavin’s turn to sigh. He could hear the concern in Nines’ voice. “I know.”

“ _ You should try and get some rest. _ ” Nines said it so softly, Gavin felt guilty. 

“I am.” A lie, but Nines knew that. “I am.”

“ _ Goodnight Gavin.”  _ Nines replied and hung up. 

The weekend went by too fast. No call-ins allowed Gavin to semi-relax. Instead of obsessing over the cases, he filled his time chugging mountain dew and playing old Nintendo platformers. Just enough focus required to keep him awake, but not enough to stress him out. He tried watching the movie his best friend recommended months ago, but he zoned out on his phone halfway through. He did give himself some credit; he managed to actually cook and clear out the takeout boxes left over from the stressful week. 

Then Sunday came. He woke up way too late and cursed himself for not setting an alarm. The restless energy that plagued him during the week was returning. He went for a run to try and get it out of his system. It helped a little. When he got home the tablet was staring at him from his backpack he left hanging open on his kitchen chair. By the time three pm came around, Gavin broke down and pulled out the tablet from the bag. Between taking notes and remembering to order some chinese when the sun went down. It was midnight when he decided to take a shower and try to sleep. He checked his phone at 12:30 and told himself he wasn’t going to check it. Something about blue lights messing with sleep. He rolled over and laid in bed before checking it again impatiently. The longer he laid in the dark with his eyes closed, the more his thoughts raced.They weren’t even about the case anymore, just random ideas and memories. 

He checked his phone several more times. By the time it was three thirty am, he huffed, dropped the phone and rolled over. He tried clearing his mind again but the thoughts kept coming. They weren’t even coherent; just nonsense and him thinking about how much sleep he was losing. Gavin let out a groan and rolled onto his back. There was one last thing he could try. He huffed through his nose and stared at the ceiling. Jacking off often helped him sleep but most of those times he was awake cause he was horny. Doing it now felt like a chore. Still, he was desperate; he kicked the blanket off and rolled over to fumble with the bedside table drawer. His hand found the lube but no towel. 

“Fuckin hell,” he muttered. 

He could go get one or just wipe it on one of the discarded clothes from yesterday by the bed. He weighed the option of how risky it was to accidentally grab a cum stained shirt in a rush during the morning. He decided to get a towel. He fumbled in the dark to the bathroom, which had a small night light by the sink. He grabbed the first rag he touched from the linen cabinet and went back to the bedroom. Gavin yanked off what little clothes he had on and rolled onto the bed. 

He wasn’t anywhere near hard and the cool air wasn’t helping. This was the first time in the night he wished his thoughts ran wild faster. He took some lube and warmed it in his hand before lightly rubbing it on his flaccid cock. Gavin should have teased himself but he was impatient. It also felt nice; he couldn’t remember the last time he did this with how work was going. He started to stroke himself with the lightest grip possible to try and rush some blood south.  _ Work.  _

He hated how his mind took the word and flashed Nines in his head. That really sent the blood flow south. Gavin knew he shouldn’t think about Nines while he touched himself; he should be ashamed at how fast he was swelling in his hand.  _ Nines _ . His gut muscles twitched and he stroked up with a tighter grip. If he had just taken Nines offer the first time, he wouldn’t be lying in bed alone. “ _ It’s not you, I just don’t date coworkers, _ ” Gavin’s own voice echoed in his mind. That was a year ago and he regretted it every time he did this. His mind started racing with what if’s. If he hadn’t said that, Nines would have kissed him. 

“Fuck,” Gavin closed his eyes and let the feeling wash over him. 

Nines would have kissed him and probably pulled him close. He would have brought Nines home. He was ashamed to admit he’d thought about this so much that he already knew how he wanted it to go. Gavin would take the lead because he wanted to make Nines feel good. A knot in his gut formed and he stroked himself a little faster. They’d make it to the bed. Nines deserved a bed even in Gavin’s imagination. He’d take Nines apart real slow. Gavin wasn’t one to be gentle during sex but he would be for Nines. 

He would kiss every inch of Nines he could reach, a silent apology for turning him down the first time. And when he was close, he could- Gavin whined out loud and held his breath. He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling as he came all over his hand. He immediately stopped and caught his breath. Guilt settled into his stomach and he cleaned himself up. He shouldn’t have thought about Nines like that. He tossed the towel and he groaned. He didn’t feel any more tired than he did before. At least he wasn’t thinking about the case. He was too busy staring into the darkness and wondering if Nines would know what he did when he saw him in the morning. 

He really fucked that up. Gavin’s job was more important at the time; work crushes go away. Except this crush on Nines. He rolled over and faced the wall, closing his eyes. He tried to push “the what if’s” and “the could have’s” from his mind. Gavin either fell asleep or his brain was quiet enough to let him think got a few hours worth of sleep. His alarm jolted him awake; he still felt awful but a few hours was better than nothing. He even forgot about his stupid pity session until he stepped on the gross rag laying by the bed. He really needed to solve that case. 

* * *

Two more days of no leads, other cases piling up, and decreased sleep plagued Gavin. It felt like his body was shaking but focusing on the tablet helped. Gavin swiped over to the map and pulled up Nines' witness reports he printed out of his bag. Staring at the tablet was fucking with his eyes at this point. He needed paper to look at. He flipped through the pages and stopped on the schedules. Everything seemed ordinary as it had for days at this point. Until Gavin noticed something about the weekly schedules. He laid the papers of the three houses side by side; sure enough a pattern appeared. Gavin’s heart was racing; he pulled up the name of the cleaning company that all the houses had listed on his phone. His eyes got wide and he closed the app and called Nines. It rang twice. 

“ _ Gavin, is everything okay?” _

“Nines, meet me at the precinct.” Gavin said, standing and walking over to the wall to grab his keys. 

“ _ Why? It’s almost four am. You need to sleep.”  _

“Can’t sleep,” He locked his front door and ran to his car. “I solved our burglary case.”

He could hear Nines sigh over the phone. _ “I’ll be there in fifteen.” _

Gavin was practically shaking out of his skin by the time he reached the precinct. He waved to a few of the night crew who gave him strange looks for being in the building without a homicide. He booted up his computer and was pulling files when Nines appeared by the desk. 

“Nice wrinkles,” Gavin said, eyeing the unkempt shirt Nines obviously threw on. “Good to know androids aren’t perfect.”

“I don’t require sleep but can you please tell me why this is so important that I had to come in the middle of the night,” Nines asked. He didn’t sound as irritated as Gavin expected him to be. 

“The burglary; all of them, they're set up.” Gavin pulled up the first burglary photo. Nines grabbed his chair and rolled it around to sit by Gavin. “This photo bothered the fuck out of me. The video footage too. Both were switched up. Notice the date and time is missing; the system they had is old and would have it stamped at the bottom. This was doctored. Now,” Gavin clicks out of the image to pull up a map of all the burglaries. “The neighborhood, the attacked houses are close but not too close to other houses. Seems random, right? But when we went to the second burglary, I noticed this house,” Gavin points to one across the street that was circled. “This one had a cleaning service van out front. Didn’t think much of it until I did some digging. All of these houses use the same service. Guess who’s part of the cleaning service? A blond android.” 

Nines studied the circle houses and Gavin pulled up the cleaning service on the browser tab. In the background of the front page, behind the owner and his workers, was a blond android in back not even facing the cameras. Nines nodded then looked to Gavin. 

“You said the first house, the photo and camera was doctored. Why?” 

“You said yourself androids have to be paid now even if it is below minimum. This photo,” Gavin zooms on the website’s photo, “shows an android wearing Cyberlife clothes. Meaning he was working with them for free until two years ago. I have a hunch that they couldn’t fire him because of discrimination laws, so what better way to get rid of someone than the frame them for something. The day of the first burglary happened after a scheduled cleaning, meaning recent footage was ready to be spliced and diced. When they broke in and stole, they just needed to replace the footage before leaving and wear gloves. Same goes for the alarms; they already had the codes.”

Nines sat in silence for a moment before turning to Gavin. “That’s absolutely genius.”

“We need to confirm with the homeowners on the time and dates, see if we can get a warrant for Chuck’s cleaning from a judge, and maybe we can find that stolen stuff.” Gavin laughed out of delirium. “Why didn’t we catch this sooner?” 

“I saw the correlation with the cleaning service but I was unaware of their Android employee. They don’t have to register as an android anymore, and old Cyberlife purchase records require a warrant.” Nines shrugged. He looked over at Gavin and studied his face. “I think you need to go back and get some sleep while you can. I’m sure Fowler isn’t going to be pleased seeing you clock in this early.”

“Done it before,” Gavin yawned. “Besides, I’m wide awake now. I can get that warrant written up and emailed before the judge even comes in. Maybe go home early now that we’ve solved the case.” He laughed but Nines only gave him a worried smile. 

“I’ll stay here then. I can run the correlation now that you’ve pointed it out while you get the warrant written up.”

“Don’t you wanna iron your clothes first?”

Niles rolled his eyes but chuckled. “I think you deserve to look more like the detective today, detective. Can’t hog the spotlight all the time,” he added with a wink. 

It was around eleven am when they heard back from the judge who approved the warrant. Gavin was running on three coffees and a redbull at that point. By the time him, Nines, and a squad car made it to the Chuck’s, Gavin was downing his second redbull. He used that as an excuse to exclaim gleefully when they found the stash of missing items hidden in a cutout within the storage room wall. Back at the station, Nines, (after obtaining written agreement from the android named Samuel), scanned his memories and easily cleared him of the robberies. Gavin got the disgruntled owners, Chuck and Brant, to confess and booked by three pm. It was surprisingly a quick turn around for a case that took, in Gavin’s mind, so long to solve. 

“I’m going home,” Gavin announced at four thirty. “I’m going to drink some beers and pass the fuck out.”

“Don’t drink too much, you’re always cranky when you have a hangover.” Nines chuckled. “Seriously, get some rest.”

Gavin promised to do that on his way out of the precinct. On the way home, he got a six pack but he wasn’t sure if he even wanted to touch it. He’d been running on caffeine all day already; beer wouldn’t be a good mix. He grabbed pizza and headed home. (He promised himself this was the last time for the next month. He hadn’t even gone to the gym the last two weeks.) With no case to worry about, Gavin was able to lose himself in a shitty supernatural drama that was playing a reruns marathon. He even managed to get a shower at a decent time. He felt off; but he knew it was the crash of being tense for two weeks. 

He went to bed at the decent hour of nine for the first time in a long time. The plan was to settle in bed, watch some stupid videos on his phone, and let the noise lure him to sleep. He made it through the first two parts of his plan before shutting off the phone and rolling over. Then the shakes came and he could feel his heartbeat. He tried to ignore them and he tried to slow his breathing. He was used to his body shaking at this point, but for some reason his heart rate was throwing him off. He laid in bed telling himself he was fine. 

_ “But what if you’re not, _ ” he thought against his will. “ _ What if you fall asleep and can’t wake up.” _

Gavin was hyperventilating before he realized it. What if he  _ didn’t  _ wake up? What if he pushed his body too hard and it was about to give out on him? He grabbed his phone from the night stand and saw it was only eleven PM. He could get calm and finally get some rest. He put it back and rolled over in bed, placing his hand on his chest to try and make himself focus on breathing. It didn’t help. He would slow down and pick back up once he started to realize his heart didn’t feel like it was slowing. On top of the shakes, Gavin’s panic was worsening. He needed to call someone. Rolling back over in bed, he grabbed his phone again. It wasn’t too late; he opened Tina’s messages. He closed the window when he reread the fact that today was Tina and her girlfriend’s anniversary. He forgot he messaged her happy anniversary and the conversation that followed with Tina explaining her plans. 

Chris was out of the question. He had two kids to keep up with who were probably sleeping. Gavin didn’t even bother to entertain the thought of messaging Hank, Connor, Fowler, McCloud, or Sanders. Gavin’s best friend was also out of the question; the man lived two cities over. His heart sank and beat loudly in his chest as he realized he didn’t have anyone he could call right now. Everyone he could rationalize why it would be bad to call them. He took a few deep breaths and felt his chest constrict a little. He could call Nines. But would Nines want to be bothered with him? They finally closed the case; Gavin shouldn’t be feeling like this. He took a few more quick deep breaths and pulled up Nines number. Gavin’s heart felt like it was going to come out of its chest. He pressed the call button and tried to slow his breathing while the phone rang. 

“ _ Hello Gavin.” _

“Nines. I need you to uh, talk to me.”

_ “What’s wrong? Are you hurt? Are you in danger?”  _ Gavin’s gut twisted with how concerned Nines sounded. 

“No I’m at home. I’m- I can’t sleep. I think I’m having a panic attack.”

“ _ I’m coming over.” _

“Dammit Nines, you don’t have too. I’m just being stupid. I just need to talk so I don’t focus on my thoughts.”

“ _ Your breathing is twice as fast as normal, I’m counting it. I’m coming over. I’ll stay on the line with you.” _

Gavin relented. He was partly glad Nines was coming. He stayed on the line, explaining how his chest felt and how dizzy he was getting. Nines tried to distract him by giving him details on the Detroit Pistons game from last week. While he was grateful, (he missed that game because he was too obsessed with the break-in case), Gavin didn’t think it was helping much. 

“ _ I’m about to be at the door, is it locked _ ?” Gavin heard a door shut in the speaker and outside.

“Give me a second.” Shaky and trying to not wobble, Gavin made it to the door and unlocked it just as the bell rang. He opened it to see Nines, who was wearing a t-shirt and what looked like jogging pants. If he wasn’t so on edge, Gavin would have made a comment on how even dressed down, Nines looked attractive. “Hey.”

“How are you feeling now?” Nines eyed him up and down as he stepped into the small foyer, which opened into the kitchen. He took off his shoes and sat his bag down before he looked Gavin over. He was no doubt scanning him. “Your pulse and breathing are still unstable but not as fast as earlier.”

“Yea, I know.” Gavin went quickly into the living room to sit on the couch. “I just feel light headed. But also tense. My heart feels like it’s pounding out of my chest. I feel like I’m going crazy.”

Nines sat down close to him and brushed Gavin’s loose hair back. “How much caffeine have you ingested over the last 24 hours?” 

Gavin looked off trying to think even if he already knew the answer. He put his face in his hands and leaned his elbows on his thighs. “Too much.” 

Nines hummed and kept brushing his hands through Gavin’s hair. Gavin didn’t have the willpower to tell him to stop. It felt nice; it also helped ease his thoughts for a moment. 

“You seem to be coming down from a caffeine high which is mingling with sleep deprivation.” Nines said softly. 

“How the fuck do you know I’m sleep deprived?” Gavin looked up and felt the blood rush in his head. Still Nines pulled back and sighed. 

“Gavin, you’ve called me several times over the past two weeks in the middle of the night. I’m surprised you haven’t passed out at work.” He knew Nines was right. It didn’t make him feel any better, especially with how his body was still reacting. Nines continued, “I think I can help you, but you have to trust me.” 

“Of course I trust you. So what’s the plan?” 

“The plan is to get you to sleep. You said you were panicking lying down, correct?” Gavin nodded. “The presence of another person might help ease your anxiety enough to get you to sleep.”

Gavin leaned back on his couch and looked at Nines with furrowed brows. “So you’re saying you need to sleep with me so I’ll calm down.” 

“Gavin,” Nines replied sternly. 

“I know you mean in my bed, doofus.” Gavin didn’t like how his heart started pounding again. “It makes sense. I’ll try anything at this point.”

He stood up and went to the bedroom knowing Nines was following behind him. The shakes were settling but nervous energy was replacing it. Why did he agree to this? 

“I sleep better on this side,” Gavin laughed nervously getting into bed. “You know this is kinda gay, Nines.”

“It will help.” Nines had walked around to the other side of the bed and put his hands on his hips. “ Do you trust me or not?”

“Yea.” 

Gavin settled under the covers and adjusted his pillow. Nines got in the bed on the other side. It wasn’t awkward as Gavin thought it would be. But seeing Nines actually lying beside him in his bed wasn’t helping his heart rate. 

“Don’t scan me.” Gavin said quickly. 

“I need to monitor you just until you go to sleep. You can roll over and look away if you want.” 

Gavin didn’t want to look away. Instead he asked, “Nines, why are you doing this?” 

Nines dropped his gaze, “I’m doing this because you’re my friend and my partner. I care about your well being.” He sighed and looked back at Gavin. “If this is making you uncomfortable, I can go. I know my previous stance on our friendship was not,” he paused, looking off as if to find the right word. “Conventional.”

Gavin laughed even though it made his head spin. “Conventional. When is anything we ever do  _ conventional _ .” His laughter died down when he saw Nines' expression. “I wasn’t laughing at that. I’m sorry.” 

There was a moment of silence before Nines said, “Your heart rate is slowing down a little.” 

“That’s surprising.” Gavin replied. “I don’t remember the last time I had another guy in my bed.”

Gavin swore for a split second he saw Nines blush. “You should try to rest,” Nines replied softly. 

Gavin knew he should let it go and roll over. But this was the first time in a long time that he actually had Nines alone. He could always blame it on fatigue loosening his inhibitions. 

“Nines, do you still like me?” 

“Gavin-“ Nines went to sit up but Gavin grabbed his shoulder. 

“Don’t get defensive.” He waited a moment before dropping his hand back down. “I want to know.”

Nines huffed and refused to look him in the eyes. “I do. You know that. If it’s a problem I will go.”

“It’s not.” Nines furrowed his brows and finally looked Gavin in the eyes. “I still like you too.”

There was silence between them. Gavin was sure he malfunctioned Nines, until he blinked a few times and said, “Well this is a predicament, isn’t it?” 

Gavin chuckled. “You know I fuckin hate it when you use big words on me.”

“Predicament isn’t even a big word.” It was a tease coming from Nines with no harshness behind it. “So what exactly do you want to do about this?”

“I want to sleep,” Gavin yawned. He felt the pull of sleep for the first time in a long time. Maybe having Nines with him was helping. “But we can talk about it in the morning. Or now.”

“Go to sleep. It’s almost midnight. We can talk about it tomorrow.” 

Gavin nodded and yawned again. He shifted around on the bed and moved closer to Nines. He didn’t open his eyes when Nines asked him softly what he was doing. “Your chest makes a nice hum,” Gavin mumbled. “I wanna hear it.” That was the last thing Gavin remembered before finally going to sleep. 

* * *

Gavin woke up to a soft whirring noise and the beep of phone alarm. It took him a minute to register that he wasn’t lying on a pillow. He opened his eyes and sat up quickly. He was greeted by Nines softly smiling at him. 

“Good morning,” Nines said. 

“Fuckin hell.” Gavin reached around and turned off the alarm from his phone. He looked back and assessed Nines; noticed the darkened spot on his shit from where he had been laying. “Shit. Did I drool on you?”

“A little. I didn’t want to risk waking you though. Don’t worry, this isn’t one of my good shirts.” 

“Right,” Gavin stretched and popped his neck. “God I haven’t slept that hard in a long time. I might have to keep you around.” 

He chuckled but noticed Nines wasn’t laughing. Nines sat up in the bed as well and looked at Gavin almost nervously. “Do you remember what you said before you fell asleep?” 

“Yeah.” Gavin got out of bed and stretched again standing up. “I meant it.”

“What about our jobs?”

“What about it?” Gavin walked over and sat down beside Nines. “They can’t fire us. No one's gonna demote us.”

“I distinctly remember you saying you don’t date coworkers. I can replay it back to you in your voice if you’d like. I have it recorded.”

Gavin felt guilt run through him. The look Nines was giving him wasn’t helping. “I- I was wrong. I was scared it was gonna fuck everything up. If we broke up, that would be messy. Have you seen two cops split?” Gavin scoffed. “I thought I could get over it and just stop caring. I was lying to myself. I’m sorry for pushing you away. And I understand if you don’t want to do this.”

Nines stared back at him for a moment and crossed his arms. “I know you’re terrible with emotions so I forgive you for taking this long. I shouldn’t, but I do.”

“So does that mean yes?” Gavin asked with his head tilted and brows raised. 

“It means you better take me on a date this weekend to make up for the stress you’ve caused me all week. I’ve been monitoring you and you’ve been a wreck. Which makes me a wreck.” 

Gavin felt his cheeks flush. “I knew you were scanning me.” 

Nines pushed the blanket back and stood up out of the bed. “We should get ready for work.”

Gavin really didn’t know what possessed him to do it. Especially considering Nines was trained in combat and could have knocked him into next week. But Gavin still grabbed Nines by the shirt and pulled him into a kiss. It was messy; Gavin definitely hit his teeth against his own lips. But once he felt Nines relax and kissed him back? Kissing Nines was everything and nothing like Gavin imagined. He definitely felt lips moving against his own and he sighed when Nines threw an arm out onto the bed to hold himself steady. It was also Nines who pulled back, looking breathless as Gavin even if he didn’t need to breathe. 

“As much as I would like to explore where that would take us, we have to get dressed or we’re going to be late.” 

Gavin reluctantly let him go. Nines changed in the bathroom (Gavin forgot he brought a bag with him last night), while Gavin changed in his room. When Nines stepped out in a neatly pressed shirt, Gavin groaned. 

“How? How is that even possible?” He asked and gestured at the shirt and pants which looked freshly ironed. Gavin didn’t even own an iron. 

“Android know-how,” Nines winked. 

Gavin rolled his eyes and followed Nines to the door to get their shoes. By his phone time they were still going to be a little early. Which reminded Gavin: if he and Nines were to work out like he knows they will, he would have to tell Fowler. 

“Oh god, Fowler is gonna kick my ass,” Gavin laughed. Nines pulled back and looked at him quizzically. “When he finds out, we gotta split. He’s gonna kick my ass or worse, make me work with Connor.” He shuddered for dramatic effect. 

Nines rolled his eyes. “I think we can manage to work something out. We should get going. They’ll be suspicious sooner than we’re ready if we’re both late.” 

* * *

Epilogue 

Nines’ favorite time of the day was actually late at night. He would wake up from his required stasis, but he wouldn’t move. He wouldn’t open his eyes either. He would lay and listen to the human who, more often than not, would be sleeping against his chest. Something about the light humming deep inside Nines brought comfort to Gavin. Gavin confessed when they decided to move in together that sometimes he would play noises on his phone when Nines wasn’t there but nothing sounded like Nines. Nothing let him sleep as well as Nines. That night, Gavin’s upper body was almost fully on top of Nines. He could feel the drool stain forming on his shirt and Gavin’s light snores. But Nines wouldn’t move. He would lay there until the alarm went off, monitoring Gavin’s vitals. Nothing made him more content then knowing his love was getting sleep at last. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. Kudos and Comments are appreciated. Find me on twitter @ao3finnijer


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